Paterson man pleads not guilty in street killing

A 23-year-old Paterson man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the murder of another city man who was shot to death on a street corner two weeks ago.

Dwain Mayfield is also charged with two counts of criminal possession of a handgun that has not been recovered since the shooting of 24-year-old Ralph Dennison Jr. on April 14.

Authorities said Mayfield walked up to Dennison and shot him once in the back of the head near the intersection of Rosa Parks Blvd and Hamilton Avenue.

Police did not say what the motive was for the shooting or whether the two men knew each other. Both were incarcerated at the Passaic County Jail in March 2012 on drug charges. Dennison was released in November 2013, while Mayfield got out on February 19, 2014, according to state corrections records..

Witnesses said they heard a gunshot and later saw Dennison on the ground. He died later at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, police said.

Investigators then identified Mayfield as a suspect and arrested him at a parole office in Passaic after arranging a meeting with Mayfield through parole officials, police said.

Defense attorney Jeremy Richmond entered the not-guilty plea on Mayfield’s behalf at a hearing Wednesday in Superior Court in Paterson. Judge Raymond Reddin kept Mayfield’s bail at $1.5 million as the case now proceeds to a grand jury for indictment.